Justine Henin’s comeback season gained further momentum Wednesday when she rallied from a set down to defeat World No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki to reach the Sony Ericsson Open semi-finals in Miami. The Belgian former World No. 1 dropped the first set in a tie-break but hit back hard to topple recent Indian Wells finalist Wozniacki 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4.

Henin could face countrywoman Kim Clijsters, herself less than one year into a comeback, in the semi-finals. Reigning US Open champion Clijsters, seeded No. 14, faces ninth-seeded Australian Samantha Stosur tonight.

Henin, a Sony Ericsson Open finalist in 2007, continued her stunning return to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour since ending her 18-month retirement in January. Henin reached finals in Brisbane and the Australian Open in her first two tournaments but suffered a second-round loss to Gisela Dulko in Indian Wells two weeks ago.

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Wozniacki played the better tennis in the first set, but, leading 6-2 in the tie-break, nerves got the better of her and she squandered three set points before Henin netted a backhand to hand the first set to the Dane.

In the second and third sets Henin won 25 of 27 points on her first serve and made less unforced errors in those two sets (23) than she did in the first set alone (27).

“My unforced errors I'm not really worried about, because I did hit a lot of winners," Henin said. "I have to be more consistent during the whole match. I did 30 unforced errors in the first set and only 20 for the last two sets. I prefer these stats actually (smiling).

“I didn't play for two years, so it's good to be on the court a little bit longer. Still, physically I was feeling, I wouldn't say fresh at the end, but I could play my best tennis on my last service game. So that was something I was happy about."

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Wozniacki said that she knew coming into the match that Henin would be dangerous despite her extended break from the game. “She had a break for 18 months, but she was still practicing hard and she has been working out a lot and she's been No. 1 in the world. She has the experience and the package that she needs to be a great player again.

“So, no, I wasn't really surprised [at how well Henin played]. It's really difficult to play matches again after you haven't played for a while, but I think she just didn't feel the pressure. She just went out there and enjoyed, and she's why the results also are coming. If you practice, then the results will come.”

Could of gone either way in the match but Kim Cluster just pull it off tonight! 14 Kim Clijsters 6-2,6-7 7-6Nail biting finish and Justine was down in the second set 0-4 and came through in a tiebreaker to win a third set!

What can I say; but both were even - just that Kim had the winning shot at the end!

*****************************************Here is the recap from Yahoo - Sports!

"By STEVEN WINE AP Sports Writer

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla.(AP)—Venus Williams added a new dance step to her celebration routine Thursday, mimicking the player she had just beaten by hopping foot to foot at the net.

With that, Williams sashayed into the final at the Sony Ericsson Open. She won her 15th consecutive match Thursday by beating Marion Bartoli 6-3, 6-4.

“I’m very pleased to be in the final, but it’s not enough,” said Williams, seeded third. “I want to take the title.”

So does Clijsters, the 2005 champion, who needed four match points to finish off Henin in their seesaw semifinal. Much of the match was sloppy, with 18 double-faults and 103 unforced errors, but there were a series of exciting exchanges at the end.

Clijsters hit five winners in the final tiebreaker, and she took the last two points with a stab volley and a forehand that kissed the sideline.

Williams is riding her longest winning streak since 2004, and she’s a finalist for the first time in nine years at the tournament she considers her hometown event. She won the title in 1998, 1999 and 2001.

With five-time champion Serena Williams watching from the photo pit, Venus took charge at the start against Bartoli, needing only 11 strokes to win the first eight points. A shaky Bartoli double-faulted four times to lose the sixth game, and said her legs felt tight because Williams’ power put so much pressure on her.

“I was feeling like I had glue on my sneakers,” Bartoli said. “I couldn’t jump, honestly. That’s why my serve was going into the net.”

To loosen up, she resorted to the between-point exercises, as though in a Jazzercise class. Williams said she didn’t find the high-stepping a distraction, and coyly denied impersonating the moves.

Bartoli took no offense at Williams’ postmatch dancing.

“She’s always doing that when she’s happy,” Bartoli said, “so I guess she was happy.”

For the No. 13-seeded Bartoli, hopping helped. Her play steadied as the match progressed, and she began finding the corners with her two-handed forehand.

Williams fell behind 3-1 in the second set, then started to move forward more aggressively. She went 8 for 8 on points at the net in the second set.

Her finish was forceful. Williams hit eight winners to sweep the final three games and served out the match at love, helped by a pair of aces.

“I like to think of myself as big-point player,” she said. “When the stakes get a little higher, it feels good to be able to pull a little extra something out.”

Now 19-1 this year, Venus is bidding for her third consecutive title after winning at Dubai and Acapulco in February. She’s dominating while Serena has been sidelined with a left knee injury since winning the Australian Open two months ago.

The knee must be better, judging from the shoes she wore while watching the semifinal from the front row.

“She looked really amazing,” Bartoli said. “I said to her, ‘It’s not fair you’re dressing up so nicely. I’m going to watch more what you’re wearing than the ball.’ … She had a red dress and some really, really, really high-heel shoes, maybe something like 14 inches.

“I think she can manage to walk pretty well. I think from wearing those kind of shoes, you don’t feel that much pain in your knees.”

WTA has officially given Justine a ranking in the draw. Here it is: WTA World Ranking: #23! Are the seeded players happy or what? I guess the pressure was on them from "the seeded players" and they kind of did wave the 16 tournament requirement rule. I assuming that the WTA thinks that Justine has now a good enough track record to be a ranked player without the 16 tournament ranking requirements. What a funny thing

WTA has officially given Justine a ranking in the draw. Here it is: WTA World Ranking: #23! Are the seeded players happy or what? I guess the pressure was on them from "the seeded players" and they kind of did wave the 16 tournament requirement rule. I assuming that the WTA thinks that Justine has now a good enough track record to be a ranked player without the 16 tournament ranking requirements. What a funny thing

Justine after this win, her first title for 2010 is now ranked 19th! Not bad, huh. I miss Justine entry as a "wild card". I like to see her play the top seeded players in the opening round of the tournament. I sure miss the nervousness of the opponent; see Justine on the other side during the first round match. The commentators saying she is unranked and kind of unproven because of her retirement. Is Justine fit? Does she have the match toughness?, etc.....

"Four-time champion Justine Henin staged an emotional and victorious return to the Grand Slam dearest to her heart, but two-time finalist Dinara Safina became the tournament’s first major casualty at Roland Garros on Day Three.Opening proceedings on Philippe Chatrier Court, her undisputed ‘home away from home’, Henin posted a relatively routine triumph over Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova 6-4 6-3 in 89 minutes to advance to the second round.

“I was feeling very happy just to be back on center court, and it's something that I never expected in the past anymore,” said the tiny Belgian who dramatically announced her retirement from the game at No1 and just three weeks out from her title defence here in 2008.

After some deep soul searching and drawing inspiration after watching Roger Federer claim his elusive French Open title last year, the 27-year-old returned to the tour this year, and it was almost as if she’d never left.

The No22 seed admitted she never thought she’d play here again, and also to a bout of nerves before her match this morning, but is relieved she made the decision to return to the game. Despite struggling somewhat on her serve today, Henin smashed 31 winners past her opponent and never looked troubled. She was overwhelmed by the standing ovation she received at the end of the match, describing it as ‘extraordinary…, a beautiful moment for me.

“… this morning, when I woke up and before walking on the court, I didn't know really what to expect and how I was going to deal with my emotions. At that time I felt like, well, I've never played on this court, you know. I've played so many times on that court.

“But as soon as I walked in and I was into my match, I felt a lot of things were coming back. It was just fantastic to share this again with the crowd as they gave me one more time great support. So it was very good to be back.”

Her win today was her first here since she held aloft the French Open trophy in 2007, her third consecutive French Open title. She won her first Slam title here in 2003.

The mentally brittle Safina double-faulted her way to a first round exit, her 17 double faults only one shy of the record here (18 by Elena Dementieva). The No9-seeded Russian led by a set and two service breaks but let her nerves get the better of her yet again, handing the second set to Date Krumm with four consecutive unforced errors including a double fault on set point.

Date Krumm, playing with a bandaged lower right leg, but scurrying courageously after every ball, trailed 1-4 in the final set, and called for the trainer’s assistance at 2-4. She limped her way to hold serve 3-4 and threaded a backhand winner down-the-line to bring up a break point on the shaky Safina serve before the Russian double faulted to level the score at 4-4.

The now-screaming Safina hit a wild forehand out to give Date Krumm a 6-5 lead, before hitting a swag of unforced errors on serve (including a forehand and backhand metres over the baseline) to hand her opponent the victory.

“You know, I am for sure I will not give up,” said the Russian who has split with her coach Zeljko Krajan. “You know, I will have to swallow this loss and keep on moving. I mean, there is nothing more than this, you know.

“I was in the worst situations, and I mean, that's life. After rain, always sun comes. I will do my best.”

39-year-old Date Krumm, ranked No.72, is now the second oldest player in the Open Era to win a match at Roland Garros since Virginia Wade in 1985. Spurred on by her husband, German race car driver Michael Krumm, she returned to the tour in 2009 after a 12-year retirement. She has not played here since 1996, her best result being a semi final finish in 1995. When asked if she remembered the last time she beat a top 10 player, she replied with a chuckle: “1996. That time, the Championships in Madison Square Garden in New York. I beat Monica Seles in the first round. She retire.”

Now the champions start playing each other. Henin has a 6-3 record against Sharapova.

“We’ve had some great matches in the past,” Sharapova said. “I’ve had some tough losses and great wins. I look forward to this one.”

The Russian won their most recent meeting in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Australian Open. That was Henin’s last Grand Slam match before she retired.

Now the Belgian is mounting a career comeback and playing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2007.

“It’s going to be an interesting match,” Henin said. “Comes very early, of course, third round, but I expect a big fight as we always had in the past. It’s going to be very exciting to play her again in the second career. The motivation is going to be really high just to keep going in this tournament.”

Henin, seeded 22nd, has French Open winning streaks of 23 matches and 39 sets. The No. 12-seeded Sharapova is seeking the only Grand Slam title she has yet to win, and she said she’s becoming more comfortable on clay.

“I really do enjoy it,” the Russian said. “I’ve learned a lot playing on it the last few years. It doesn’t affect me as it did many years ago, because I knew I couldn’t last quite as long as I feel that I can now.”

Maria seems to have sign up a new "mouthpiece" to coach her on her public talking points. I guess - when you make 90% of your monies on promotions; you have to have the best image possible! I find the old Maria better to my liking now. At least it was her speaking as her own person not a bunch of public relations talking heads thinking up lines in a script for damage control. It just adds to the distance between herself and her fans - this move to the talking points.

Sunday - one set determines the match! Who will be the winner and who will be the loser! Justine is still favorite in this third set! Let see if she can pull it out like she has done many, many times before.

"By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer

PARIS(AP)—Maria Sharapova and Justine Henin have star power and resumes worthy of a Grand Slam final. Instead, they’re meeting in the third round of this French Open, and their rainy, windy match was suspended because of darkness while tied at a set apiece Saturday night.

Fans huddled under blankets and umbrellas, and camera flashes popped against the slate sky as the two former No. 1s, owners of a combined 10 major titles, traded strokes in the main stadium.

Four-time French Open champion Henin began well, taking 12 of the first 15 points en route to a 4-0 lead, and she claimed the first set 6-2. That was the 40th consecutive set Henin won at the French Open, tying the tournament record set by Helen Wills Moody from 1926-32.

But Henin’s streak ended shortly thereafter, as Sharapova worked her way into the match eventually. The Russian broke Henin’s serve for the first time for a 5-3 lead in the second set, then held for 6-3.

With rain falling, and the light fading, tournament referee Stefan Fransson walked on court and called off play for the day.

When they resume, Sharapova and Henin will play what comes down to a best-of-one-set contest for the right to play in the fourth round.

Their nine previous meetings - Henin won six - all came in the quarterfinals or later of tournaments."